Hyde on Hays' wrist, López at the All-Star Game, rotation, Rutschman, and more

The All-Star break did wonders for the Orioles’ collective health.

Outfielder Austin Hays needed to rest a sore right wrist, and reliever Félix Bautista is available tonight after the exercise band mishap at Tropicana Field last weekend that bruised his right hand.

Tyler Wells, who’s starting tonight, has a restriction on his innings this season, a task made easier with him idle since last Friday against the Rays.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Hays "rehabbed" the wrist for four days, exactly what needed to happen to reduce the level of discomfort.

"He played banged up at the end of the break," Hyde said. "Saw him last night, it felt better. It feels great today, so the break came at the right time."

A workout last night was optional.

"With the way rules are now, we're leaving guys alone," Hyde said. "And I wanted guys to enjoy it, too. Listen, we busted our butts here for the last four or five months, and taking a few days off is absolutely necessary. They more than deserved it."

Hyde said he watched closer Jorge López retire both batters faced in the All-Star Game. He knew that López would be used in the seventh inning and was ready for it.

“I was so nervous for him, and so excited,” Hyde said. “Made sure we watched the intros because we wanted to see him, and it was cool he got (introduced) right away.

“I was, obviously, watching the game, but definitely wanted to be there in the seventh inning to watch him. I was so excited and nervous. Three pitches, two outs. He was fantastic, showed everybody how great his stuff is. Loved to see the smile on his face, and texted him right away after.”

American League manager Dusty Baker removed López with two outs, making for a very light workload for the closer.

“I think that was probably best-case scenario, so thank you, Dusty,” Hyde said.

“In my texts with him, he was just so excited to be there and so appreciative of being part of the game. It was great to watch him on the mound.

“That honor he had to go to the game and pitch, it was so well deserved. We all know his story, so what a cool moment for him and his family, and for all of us to be able to watch him.”

Hyde explained how he lined up the rotation following the break to start Wells, Jordan Lyles and Dean Kremer against the Yankees. Lyles and Kremer switched spots, and the veteran had input.

“It was more of, we kind of worked backward a little bit,” Hyde said. “We’ve got New York for three, Tampa for four. We didn’t want to give some guys too long of a break, honestly, and so Wellsy pitched a week ago, Jordan will have five days’ rest. I kind of gave him the option, also, on which date.

“For me, that last game in Tampa, he wasn’t real sharp and wasn’t really himself. He’s logged a lot of innings so far, so we talked with him after, where he felt comfortable to pitch, and that’s what he said. I like to talk to veterans who have done this for a while now, and like to get input. Jordan felt comfortable going that day, and then Kremer after him.”

Kyle Bradish is making another rehab start on Saturday, and he’s expected to move up from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. He’s tossed eight scoreless innings with one hit, no walks and nine strikeouts in two starts with the Baysox.

Catcher Adley Rutschman has been elevated to second in the order tonight, a first in his Orioles career.

“Against the right-handed pitcher (Jameson Taillon), having more lefties at the top, Adley with the ability to take pitches,” Hyde said. “I feel like he’s getting more comfortable in the big leagues now, and it was just really to get Ced (Cedric Mullins), Adley and (Anthony) Santander up there.”

Fifty-four of the Orioles’ games have been decided by two runs or fewer, tied with the Pirates for most in the majors. The grind will continue with an unforgiving schedule.

“This is the division we’re in,” Hyde said. “We’re coming down the stretch now a little bit, and we turned the corner on the second half. Love how we played, really, the last couple months before the first half ended. Just love to see us continue. We’ve been playing good teams all year and playing them tough, and being competitive. We’re playing two teams that are ahead of us in our division that are important games.

“I don’t want to put any more pressure on our team. I just want us to keep doing what we’re doing, and that is try to win every inning, continue to play as hard as we possibly can, and I don’t want anything to change. The vibe and everything that’s going on right now is really good, and I don’t think we need any sort of motivating speech. These guys know the position they put themselves in, and I just want to see us continue to play the way we’re playing.”

And keep blocking the outside noise. Talk of the wild card race, speculation that comes with the trade deadline.

“It’s part of the game and part of the world we live in with how easy it is to get distracted and read stuff,” Hyde said. “I think everybody’s aware of the trade deadline, the draft just happened. I think all of our guys know the position they’ve put themselves in in the second half. I just don’t want to muddy it up at all. I just want guys to continue to do what they’ve been doing and try to continue to get better, like we’ve done in the first half.”

Three Orioles minor leaguers have been selected to Sunday’s Dominican Summer League All-Star Game: infielder Aron Estrada and right-handers Harif Frias and Eris Rodriguez.

Ryan Ripken, son of Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr., announced his retirement this afternoon in a Twitter post, though he chose to word it as “moving on from my playing career.”

Ripken is new to Twitter. Follow him at @ryanripken.

For the Yankees
DJ LeMahieu 2B
Aaron Judge CF
Anthony Rizzo 1B
Giancarlo Stanton DH
Josh Donaldson 3B
Jose Trevino C
Isiah Kiner-Falefa SS
Tim Locastro RF
Joey Gallo LF

Jameson Taillon RHP